NEW HAVEN >> A museum in New Haven that’s been closed for improvements is making thousands of images from its online collection available to the public in the meantime.

The Yale Center for British Art says the recent release of 22,000 high-resolution images supports its commitment to provide open access to images of artworks in the public domain. The center has made a total of 69,000 images available online.

The museum says the artworks themselves are not new to the public domain but in most cases this is the first time images of the works are easily accessible. They include works by William Blake, Thomas Rowlandson and others.

The museum’s building is expected to re-open in May after being closed nearly a year for improvements to public galleries, internal systems and a lecture hall.